Powerbook G4 15 inch screen problem.

macrumors newbie

Hey, folks! I've had a Powebook G4 for a few years now, and it's been treating me well. I'm going to get a new laptop when they hopefully redesign in the fall, but right now, it works well enough. However, lately, I notice that if I move the screen, the lower half (probably a good 4 inches) will freeze/turn white/fragment into bars and will stay like that until I move the screen into a different position, and the lower part returns to normal. It's not a terrible problem, just annoying to have to re-adjust it everytime I open the laptop. Does anyone know what this is called, or if there's a way to refresh the screen, or something along those lines? I tried the calibrating route, but nothing seemed to fix it (just turned the box different colors.)

macrumors newbie

i think i have the same problem w/ my powerbook G4. i have a 15 inch 1.5ghz from june 2004.

the problem that wolnutz described seems evident in mine, except my screen is worse off. i initially saw the problem last summer, conveniently right after my applecare expired. initially, the bottom third of the screen would blank/white out when the LCD was in certain positions. when I readjusted the screen the problem went away. but as time went on, the problem got worse, and more and more of the screen would blank out and readjusting the angle of the display would do less and less.

currently, i only have the top third of the display working, with the bottom third completely blanked out. the only way to see the full display is to use my index finger and thumb to put pressure on the left side of the screen. doing so immediately fixes the problem, but of course, it is frustrating to lose one hand to do this. i am pretty certain that the problem is in the display connection, because I hook up my powerbook to an external monitor and everything looks fine.

i was told that the problem could be easily fixed by readjusting the display connection inside the laptop, but i didn't find the time/right person to do it (i don't want to take it apart myself).

hope that helps, at least you're not alone, haha. but you should get it fixed before it gets worse.

macrumors regular

I have a Ti G4 and years ago they were replacing the screens for free because of a defect. Even though my applecare had expired, there was no charge for the new screen. I have no idea whether this replacement plan is still in effect, but it might be worth looking up.

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